


Christmas Parties Suck

by reapingwithjoy



Series: Now or Never [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Party, Holidays, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-22
Updated: 2013-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-05 11:47:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1093543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reapingwithjoy/pseuds/reapingwithjoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas takes Dean to his extended family's annual Christmas party. It goes exactly how Castiel warned Dean it would go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Parties Suck

**Author's Note:**

> So this wasn't actually supposed to be a part of this fic but I signed up for a Destiel Advent Calendar on tumblr and I wanted to do something different from what everyone else was thinking, so I did it in my own verse. The song that inspired this chapter is "The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me is You" by Bryan Adams. Even though it has nothing to do with the song.
> 
> This CAN be read without reading the other fic in this series.
> 
> So Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you enjoy!   
> (This is not new, it was the same chapter attached to the Now or Never fic, but I decided to change this to a solo story considering it doesn't fit the plot of Now or Never.)

Dean pulled out the expensive suit hanging inside the bag, looking extremely out of place next to blue jeans and flannel. He didn’t understand the point of fancy Christmas parties where people dressed uncomfortably and engaged in small talk while snacking on hors d’oeuvres. He would rather be at home with his family, eating a huge meal and then vegging out afterwards in front of the television with his mom, dad, and Sammy. But Castiel begged him to go to his cousin’s annual Christmas party, and Dean knew how much Castiel couldn’t stand his cousins. Apparently his uncle named all his children after demons, which 1: Totally goes with Cas’ family names, but 2: Is really fricking creepy. So he agreed to go with him. 

Dean laid the suit on his bed to take it out of the bag. His phone vibrated on his bed, light flashing on and displaying Cas’ I.D. 

Cas: On my way. I’ll see you soon.

Dean dropped his phone back on his bed and changed into his suit carefully, not wanting to damage it. He looked over into his mirror as he put on his suit jacket, smoothing his hands over the front. It really was a comfortable fit, and the cool grey worked with the blue tie he stole from Cas. Just as he started putting his phone and wallet in his pockets, the doorbell rang. Making sure he got everything, Dean left his room, looking through the balusters to see his boyfriend looking absolutely ravishing in his suit next to his mom. The two were talking. As he made his way down, his mother turned around, a wide grin growing on her face. “Dean, look at you! You look so handsome!” She said, brushing off his shoulder as soon as he reached her. 

“Thanks, mom.” 

Dean moved to stand by Cas. “Thank you for renting the suit for him Castiel, you know how he is about this stuff.” Mary said.

“Hey!” 

Castiel and his mother chuckled. It was nice seeing some of the stress easing off Castiel. He stressed about the party all week, making sure his outfit was perfect, even borrowing a car from Balthazar so his cousins wouldn’t rag on him for driving his old sedan. Dean just wanted to get the party over with, he hated seeing Cas this worked up.

Dean motioned to open the door behind him. “Well, we should...”

“Wait! Let me take a picture before you two leave.” Mary hurried over to cabinet in the hallway where her camera sat.

Dean groaned. “Mom! This isn’t prom!”

“No, it’s better.” She walked back to the two boys, turning on the camera. “Lisa was a nice girl, but Cas is... he’s something special. You fit.” 

Dean looked down, embarrassed, before looking over at Castiel, his crooked smile making his heart warm.

_Flash._

"Mom!" Mary opened the door and pushed the boys out, not letting Dean argue more. "Have fun!" 

Dean rolled his eyes fondly. 

"Your mom is very sweet, Dean." 

Dean sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Yeah, I know." 

Castiel looked down at his watch. "We should get going." 

"Do we have to?" Dean asked all pouty with a hint of a smirk, grabbing both of Castiel's biceps to pull him closer. "I'd rather just worship my boyfriend in the backseat of his douche of a brother’s car." 

"No, Dean, you promised." Castiel shrugged him off, walking down the sidewalk to the driveway. 

Dean chased after him. "Awe, come on, Cas- woah." He stopped in front of a sleek silver 2012 BMW, the light coming from his living room shining off the hood. "Can I at least drive?" 

"Dean. Get in the car. Please?" Castiel said exasperated as he opened the driver door.   
Dean walked to stand in front of him, the car door between them. He moved his hand to run his thumb along Cas' freshly shaved jaw line. "Hey. Breathe, okay?”

Dean stopped on Castiel's chin, using his thumb and index finger to bring him in for a soft kiss. 

Castiel closed his eyes and rested his forehead on Dean's, sighing. "I hope nothing goes wrong."   
\--------------------  
Castiel’s uncle lived in a huge house out past the outskirts of town reaching bum fuck nowhere. It took them an hour and a half to get there, being careful not to hit any animals on the unlit country back roads. The house was massive, reminding Dean of the plantation houses from the old south. It was covered with elaborate Christmas lights spanning from the house to the front gate. 

"Jeez! Got enough lights there?" Dean commented as they pulled up to the front of the house where the host setup valet parking. The valet opened his door first, startling Dean. He got out and waited for Cas to give his keys to the valet in exchange for a ticket. Dean glanced through the large windows to see that the party was in full swing. The sight made nervousness blossom in his stomach. He had met Cas’ grandparents and his brothers after their second date. Disregarding Gabriel’s pranks and Balthazar’s snobbery, they were kind and welcoming. Dean had a feeling that these people would not be as friendly.

“Ready?” Castiel said, appearing next to him, causing Dean to flinch. 

“Sorry. I do that too often.” Castiel apologized.

Dean took Castiel’s hand into his, lifting it up to press a firm kiss to the back of it, letting his lips linger over it before entwining their fingers and bringing their hands down. Dean sighed. "It's okay. Let's go."

The two walked down a stone pathway to the front door. As soon as Castiel opened it the sounds of string instruments and chatter rang in their ears; the smell of Christmas pine and cinnamon filled the air. An elaborately decorated douglas fir stood towards the back of the dance floor next to the string quartet. Aside from the modern attire, Dean felt like he just stepped out of a Delorean. 

Castiel leaned into him speaking quietly. "I see Gabriel has already found the sweets." He pointed over to one of the tables where Gabriel took a bite of a cake pop, chuckling at his brother's sweet tooth. 

They barely began walking through the house before they were stopped by two smartly dressed brunettes. "Castiel!" Said the curly haired one, pulling Castiel into a hug. The other girl followed. Castiel grimaced shortly, switching his features back to content when he faced them. The first turned to Dean with a sweetly forced smile. "And you must be Dean. Castiel has told us a lot about you." 

Castiel dipped his head down to hide a blush Dean knew was there. The curly haired one extended her hand. Dean reached out to shake it. "Yes, that's me, but I can't say I know your name, sorry." 

She pulled away, turning to Castiel and holding the hand up to her chest, faking shock. "Clarence! How dare you!" She tutted then winked at Castiel. "You'll just have to make it up to me." 

She looked back at Dean, pointing at herself then her counterpart. "I'm Meg and this is my cousin Ruby." 

"Is this really Dean? I expected more to be honest." Ruby deadpanned. Dean’s eyebrows shot up. 

“Excuse me?”

“Okay!” Castiel clapped his hands together, smiling nervously and linking his arm with Dean’s. “It’s nice to see you two, I’ll talk to you later!” They began to walk away hearing Meg call out, “Don’t forget to say hi to Aunt Lilith, Cassy!” 

Castiel shut his eyes tight, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, breathing in and exhaling slowly.

“I’m sorry. Ruby can be-”

“A bitch?” 

“I was going to say a bit harsh, but bitch works too.” Castiel’s lip quirked then blossomed into a smile, Dean smiled in return and shrugged. “It’s not the worst thing someone’s said about me. I’ll live.” 

“Darn. I was hoping to get rid of the rubbish Cassy brought along.” The balding man in entirely black said, striding up to the two. He continued, not giving Dean time to react to the insult. “Cassy dear, your Aunt is looking for you and your dearest. She’s in the parlor talking to Tammi and Azazel.”

“Yes. Thank you, Crowley.” Castiel grabbed Dean’s hand leading him away. 

“So it’s definitely safe to assume that everyone here is a dick?” Dean whispered into Castiel’s ear, making him smile nervously. They walked around slowly, taking their time to meet Castiel’s aunt. After a few minutes they found her, just where Crowley had directed them. The thin blonde was laughing animatedly at something Tammi said. Castiel coughed loudly to grab her attention. She turned around, smiling slyly at her nephew. 

“Castiel! Nice of you to arrive with your beau. Took you long enough to bring him around! Sorry your Uncle Luke isn’t here. Business, you know.” She shifted to Dean. “Hello, Dean nice to finally make your acquaintance.” Dean smiled kindly at her. Castiel’s aunt seemed much nicer than the others he met tonight. She stuck out her hand, palm down. Dean took her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of it. “Nice to meet you ma’am.”

“Lilith, please Dean.”

As uncomfortable as that made Dean, he went along with it. “Alright... Lilith.”

“Now Cassy tells me that you just finished your first semester in college, how was that?”   
Dean scratched the back of his head. “Well, it was hard to adjust at first, but it wasn’t too bad. It’s nice that it’s only a few hours away so I can see my family.”

“Where is it that you go?”

“Mariani College.” Lilith nodded, sly eyes capturing Dean’s. He continued. “Yeah. They’re pretty big with companies and I’m studying mechanical engineering so, I hope it works out.” 

All the adults nodded making Dean feel more confident. Beside him, Castiel squeezed his hand. “Impressive Dean. Truly impressive. What would you like to do with that?”

“Ideally, I would like to work with cars.”

“Ah. A greasemonkey, like your father.” Said the man to Lilith’s left who must have been Azazel. The label made Dean uncomfortable.

“You know my dad?”

“I’ve been to his shop before. Man knows his cars.” He said something else under his breath but Dean couldn’t catch it. Just as Dean was about to ask what he said, Castiel squeezed his hand tighter and Lilith spoke up. “You two should go and enjoy the party, dance a bit. I know Cassy would enjoy that. It was an absolute pleasure meeting you Dean Winchester.”

As soon as the exchange was over, Castiel lead Dean to an emptier part of the house. “Cas?” Dean asked as Castiel leaned against a wall, clenching his fist tight and sighing. “My aunt unnerves me, Dean." 

He ran his hand through his combed hair, messing it up to its normal texture. "Just being near her and her false concern about my life puts me on edge." 

“Awe, come on Cas, she seems to care.”

“She didn’t attend my parents funeral, Dean! Gabe overheard her talking to my Grandma after the car crash about how they deserved to die for raising a fag son!” Castiel clenched his teeth and pressed his lips tight to stop his chin from trembling.

Dean’s stomach sank. Some of the people in this world just don’t understand. Dean got that. But when that hate was aimed at Castiel, kind and caring as he was… It made Dean hurt more than anything.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He rumbled. 

Castiel sighed, tears pooling in his eyes. “I just…” He paused, frowning before continuing, “I didn’t think she would affect me that much.”

Dean gritted his teeth then nodded. He ducked his head, think of what to do. He wanted to go back in and give Castiel’s aunt a piece of his mind but decided against it. Dean leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Castiel’s and reached over to grab his hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” 

Castiel looked up at him, a small smile forming on the corner of his mouth. He took Dean’s hand, following him back to the valet. The night air had gotten colder, the two boys wrapped their arms around each other as they waited for the valet to return with the car. “It was stupid to come,” Cas whispered.

“Shhh. You didn’t know,” Dean soothed, pressing a kiss to his forehead. The valet grunted beside them, holding out the keys. “Have a nice night gentlemen.”

“Thanks,” Dean offered, releasing Cas and taking the keys. “I’m driving.” 

Not even arguing, Cas got into the passenger's seat. Dean gave the valet a tip and got into the driver’s side. Turning on the XM radio to some classic rock station, Dean drove down the dirt road.

After a few minutes on the road, Castiel began to relax, sinking into the seat. “Feeling better?” Dean asked, looking over to him before looking back at the road.

“Yes. Much.” A pause. “I’m sorry.” Over the radio, the opening chords to _[Thank You](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bkyha3RulKA)_ by Led Zeppelin began to play. 

“Cas, it’s fine.” Dean glanced over at him once more, trying to say that he understood.   
Castiel just frowned. 

“You know what?” Dean said, pulling the car over to the side of the road and parking in an empty field. He turned up the volume and got out, walking around the front of the car and opening Cas’ door. “Dean... what-”

“Dance with me.” Dean said calmly, holding out his hand.

Cas shook his head, bewildered from Dean’s request. Dean doesn’t dance. “Babe, you don’t have to.”

“Please?”

Hesitantly, Cas took his hand. Dean pulled him up into his arms smoothly, wrapping an arm securely around Cas’ waist, the other holding his hand. “Dean!” Castiel chuckled, falling into sway with Dean. He rested his head on Dean’s shoulder, sighing in contentment. 

The car door was still open, casting a light over the two, their large shadows moving about the field. The music echoed faintly off the trees surrounding the field, Robert Plant’s soothing voice enveloping them. They moved together not saying a word, too lost in the melody and themselves. 

“Cas, you know you don’t have to apologize for how you feel.” Dean whispered. “You have every right to be upset.”

Castiel nodded against the crook of his neck, mumbling, “Thank you.”

They fell silent once more, Dean singing along to the song quietly. “ _Thanks to you it will be done, for you to me are the only one._ ”


End file.
